The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service (Paperback)

About the Author

Laura Kaplan is a lifelong activist and a founding member of the Emma Goldman Women’s Health Center in Chicago. She is a contributor to Our Bodies, Ourselves.

Praise For…

“This is lively, nuanced history that brings to life the hopes, terrors, and disappointments of a movement committed to giving women control over their own bodies.”

— Booklist

“The Story of Jane succeeds on the steam of Kaplan’s gripping subject and her moving belief in the power of small-scale change.”

— New York Newsday

“Kaplan’s engrossing tales of the quiet courage of the women who risked their reputations and freedom to help others may remind many readers of other kinds of outlaws who have resisted tyranny throughout history.”

— Chicago Sun Times

“A dramatic and important piece of women’s history.”

— Publishers Weekly

"A firsthand account of an underdocumented moment in the history of abortion and women's liberation. . . . [Kaplan's] powerful story will be invaluable to organizers, feminist historians, and anyone concerned about contemporary threats to personal liberty."

— Kirkus Reviews

"As a study of this remarkable but little-known phenomenon, this book will be of value to anyone interested in women’s health, the women’s movement, and women’s reproductive health and rights, particularly now that those rights are coming under increasing attack."

— Library Journal

“An extraordinary history . . . . This book stands as a compelling testament to a woman’s most essential freedom—control over her own body—and to the power of women helping women.”

— The Rumpus

"Kaplan tells all about Jane's inspiring history in this fantastic book."